Pope Francis at Yad Vashem, 26 May 2014

Pope Francis was accompanied on this visit to Yad Vashem by President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate Avner Shalev and Chairman of the Yad Vashem Council Rabbi Israel Meir Lau.

The Pope’s visit to Yad Vashem took place in the Hall of Remembrance, where he participated in a memorial ceremony, greeted six Holocaust survivors, delivered an address and signed the Yad Vashem Guest Book. During the memorial ceremony, the Pope rekindled the Eternal Flame and laid a wreath in memory of the victims of the Shoah. At the conclusion of the visit, he was presented with a replica of a Holocaust-era painting.